Feb. 22, 2005
WACO, Texas - Baylor sophomore southpaw Cory VanAllen was named Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week, the league office announced Tuesday. VanAllen earns the weekly honor for the third time in his career.
With the selection, VanAllen becomes just the fifth pitcher in the league's nine-season history to earn pitcher of the week honors in consecutive weeks. He joins former All-Americans Jason Jennings (Baylor; 1999), Ryan Rupe (Texas A&M; 1998), J.P. Howell (Texas; 2004) and Matt Smith (Oklahoma State; 1998) as the only pitcher to accomplish the feat.
A product of Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas, VanAllen matched his career high with eight strikeouts Sunday against 24th-ranked Oral Roberts and pitched 8.0 innings of four-hit shutout ball as the Bears defeated the Golden Eagles 4-0. It was the longest outing of VanAllen's career and the second consecutive outing in which he tallied eight strikeouts.
On the season, VanAllen is 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA, sixth in the Big 12. He has recorded 16 strikeouts against only two walks in 13.1 innings with an opponents' batting average of .229. In six career starts, VanAllen is 4-2 with a 0.57 ERA, allowing two earned runs in 31.2 innings. He has yet to allow a run in three career starts at Baylor Ballpark, covering 20.0 innings.
Baylor returns to action this weekend, traveling to Tempe, Ariz., for a three-game series at Arizona State.
